Rebirth at the starting point of happiness

The next morning, Xinyue couldn't get up.

"Sister, lie down for a while. My legs hurt so badly. My butt hurts, my feet hurt, my shoulders hurt, my arms hurt. My whole body hurts."

Xinyue said crying.

"You fell asleep yesterday, so I massaged you and you will feel better today. You have to get up even if it hurts. We are in the mountains and we need to move quickly. It is not safe to stay in one place for too long."

Su Qiuyue was not trying to scare her, she was just stating the truth.

Xinyue had no choice but to get up and continue on her way. Half of the things in her backpack were taken away by her sister.

Despite this, Su Xinyue still walked very slowly.

During the lunch break, I sat there in a daze.

Feeling much better in the afternoon, Old Man Zhao started to speed up again.

"Grandpa Zhao, why? I just came over to hold the rack and you left so quickly." Xinyue complained to old man Zhao.

"It's because you walked too slowly this morning. Now that you're feeling much better, you should walk faster this afternoon to catch up on the journey, or you won't be able to reach your destination by evening."

Old man Zhao didn't even turn his head, but he was much kinder to Xinyue.

"Ah? It's too difficult to go up the mountain." Xinyue had no choice but to quicken her legs to keep up with the speed of Old Man Zhao.

"You didn't pick anything when you went up the mountain, you just followed the trail. That's why it's not easy to be a mountain runner. Not only do you have to walk fast, but you also have to have the strength to carry what you find back home. Only then can you sell it to support your family.

A large basket of mushrooms, but not even half of them are dried. Don’t you think it’s hard work?” Old man Zhao was walking in front and talking to Xinyue.

"I thought it would be fun to go up the mountain." Xinyue said with a pout.

"It's fun, but it's also really scary. It's also really hard. I have to earn some money to support my family. Many people go up the mountain and never come back. And many people go back.

But we should have fun when we should, and be careful when we should be careful."

After hearing what he said, Xinyue didn't dare to complain about being tired anymore, and gritted her teeth and walked forward. She finally reached her destination before dark.

Although I was tired, I didn't fall asleep immediately today. Although I couldn't go out to find firewood, I could help my sister prepare food.

I went to bed early after dinner, but I didn't fall asleep. Instead, I had the energy to listen to Old Man Zhao telling stories.

I don't know where I heard it but I fell asleep.

"This child is good. He will be a son in the future." Old Man Zhao said to Su Qiuyue with a smile.

"He's a country kid, he goes up mountains and down rivers, he works in the fields. He's become much tougher in the past two years. He would have cried a lot before." Su Qiuyue said with a smile.

"It's better to have strong children who can handle anything." Old man Zhao nodded.

"I don't ask her to be outstanding, I just hope she can do whatever she wants in the future. Just live happily and contentedly." Su Qiuyue said in a low voice.

"You are not very old, why are you so mature? Life is short, so enjoy it while you can." Old man Zhao glanced at Su Qiuyue and didn't understand. She was so young, but she was treated like a mother by his elder sister.

Su Qiuyue smiled and said nothing.

After stumbling and struggling, they finally reached the cabin. Unfortunately, it was raining and they couldn't leave for a while.

Fortunately, people who go up the mountain will repair it whenever they pass by, so there is no leakage. There is a modified iron bucket in the cabin, which is placed on the stove made of stones. The fire is lit directly, and the cabin is warm.

"It's good to have rain. There will be a lot of mushrooms on the road. Then we can hunt a few pheasants. If we are lucky enough to see a flying dragon, we will be in for a treat."

Old man Zhao sat in front of the fire, looking at the rain outside and spoke softly.

"Really? Then I have to pick more. Uncle, is there anything delicious in the mountains?" Su Xinyue became interested when she heard it, as if she could eat it tomorrow.

"There are so many delicious things. After a few days of rain, the wild fruits in the mountains are almost all edible.

Pheasants, rabbits, goats, and deer are all good meat. Each one is more delicious than the other. When we get there, we will find that their deer meat, milk tea, and milk wine are all good things.”

Old man Zhao listed all the delicacies that could be eaten one by one, which made Su Xinyue's eyes widen. She hoped that the rain outside would stop soon.

The rain in the mountains is different from the rain we usually see. The sound of raindrops hitting the leaves is messy and orderly.

The sound was also louder, with a "puff" sound when it fell to the ground. It was rumbling and very loud and pleasant to listen to.

Su Qiuyue listened to it all night and fell asleep in a daze.

The rain lasted for a whole day and night, and we still couldn't leave the next day. We had to wait another day.

Old man Zhao went out at noon, saying that he was going to hunt some game for meat in the afternoon.

Su Qiuyue and her sister went to look for firewood. It had just rained, so everything was wet. They brought it back and laid it out to cool so that it could be used when others came.

"Sister, my shoes are wet." Xinyue complained to her sister while holding the firewood.

"Don't get wet. It rained last night. Even though it's hard to walk now, it will be fine tomorrow."

"Will there be mushrooms tomorrow?" Xinyue suddenly thought of mushrooms.

"Yes, mushrooms grow very fast. They can come out overnight." Su Qiuyue was also a little looking forward to it.

"What kind of mushrooms are edible?" Xinyue had never picked any before and was afraid of picking poisonous mushrooms.

"You'll know when the time comes just ask Uncle Zhao." Su Qiuyue only knew these two things and didn't know the rest.

In the afternoon, Old Man Zhao came back with his prey, his feet covered in mud. Su Qiuyue quickly plucked the two pheasants.

After finishing, Old Man Zhao cut open the belly and asked Su Qiuyue to go to the stream to clean it. This time, Su Qiuyue brought seasoning and meat sauce.

Put wild onions in the pheasant's stomach, cover it with mud and throw it into the fire.

Xinyue found Huang Youyou nearby, who was just about to pick mugwort, so she went over to pick some and brought them back to eat later.

"There will definitely be mushrooms tomorrow. It rained a lot yesterday. It rained all day and all night. Everything is soaked through."

Old Man Zhao was scraping the mud off his shoes with a wooden stick while talking to Su Qiuyue.

"Then there will be work to do on the road tomorrow." Su Qiuyue was working on another chicken.

"That is."

"Sister, there are so many mosquitoes. They bit me several times." Xinyue came back with a clamor. She was scratching her head as she walked.

Su Qiuyue quickly took out the ointment from her backpack and applied it to her. She also applied it on herself, as she also attracted mosquitoes.

"There are more mosquitoes after the rain." Old man Zhao said with a laugh.

"Girl, is that medicine for repelling mosquitoes? No medicine works in this mountain." asked Old Man Zhao.

"It's for relieving itching. My sister and I are both attracted to mosquitoes, and one bite from them can cause a big bump. It takes several days to linger, and sometimes I scratch until it bleeds, but it's still itchy. This recipe was made by my grandfather. It works well. The bump got smaller overnight, and the itching stopped in two days."

Su Qiuyue handed the ointment to Old Man Zhao. There was a lot of this stuff at home. When the weather got warmer, she and her sister would apply some every day. It also had the effect of repelling mosquitoes. Of course, it was bad enough outdoors, but it was no big problem indoors.

"Uncle, try this. If it works, keep it. I have more at home."

"Oh, that's great." Old man Zhao also took a small piece and smeared it on the bite he had today.

This meal made Xinyue's mouth drool and she just kept saying how delicious it was.

The next day they really saw a lot of mushrooms, although many of them were inedible mushrooms like dog urine moss.

Because picking mushrooms also requires walking very slowly, I saw mushrooms on a dead tree in the distance, so I turned over there.

After rushing for a long time, we finally arrived at the resting place and picked quite a few mushrooms.

Su Qiuyue simply ate mushrooms at night. She had cumin, pepper, and salt in her backpack, as well as the leftover chicken fat from the chicken she ate yesterday.

Old man Zhao has a small aluminum pan, which is perfect for frying mushrooms. They are all fresh mushrooms, so no water is needed, and the fragrance will soon spread.

"Wow, it smells so good. It smells even better than the chicken I ate yesterday!" Xinyue screamed and cried, wishing she could get it into her mouth right away.

"Oh my god, all these mushrooms on the ground are more delicious than meat?! That saves me a lot of trouble." Old man Zhao joked.

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Xinyue quickly denied it. She was really worried that Old Man Zhao would stop hunting. Then there would be no meat to eat.

"Hahahaha." Old man Zhao was just teasing the child. He was very amused to see Xinyue trying to explain herself.

Su Qiuyue was picking mushrooms, while Old Man Zhao and Xinyue were dealing with their muddy and wet shoes, propping them up and roasting them by the fire.

Just wear straw sandals on your feet for now.

After a hearty meal and a night's rest, it finally took another day to reach Sunai's tribe.

Su Qiuyue had been here once, and Xinyue was curious about everything, and had forgotten all about the tiredness from the journey.

Su Qiuyue went to find Ake and took back all the things that they had sent last time, and some of them had been sent to the place where they were going to migrate.

"We have already started preparing the migration site, and we hope to complete it before next winter. It will take some time for our deer to adapt there," said Ake with a smile.

"Building a house?" Su Qiuyue asked.

"Well, we have some wooden houses, but we need some tents inside. We are working on all the deerskins. We are also working on the bark.

The houses you live in are not suitable for us. We are nomads, and it costs too much to build a house. "Ake said calmly.

"Then...what if..." Su Qiuyue thought, after doing so much, what if she still can't avoid it?

"We have done our best. This is the protection of the Deer God.

If we still can't escape by then, it will be God's decision. We will accept our fate calmly." Ak still smiled.

Su Qiuyue didn't know how to comment on their wholehearted trust in their faith. That's why such a nation is so pure.

Because of faith, one can accept everything calmly, and since one has made a choice, one just needs to accept the result.

At this moment, Su Qiuyue seemed to have come to terms with it, and suddenly she felt an inexplicable sense of relief. Solid, relaxed, and clear.

Su Qiuyue followed Ake's example and bowed devoutly to the image enshrined in his house.

Thank you for meeting them, thank you for appearing, sincere thanks.

Xinyue had a lot of fun in the tribe and quickly became friends with the children. The children taught her how to ride a deer and took her to pick mushrooms.

Su Qiuyue was happy from morning till night every day and felt that this trip was worth it.

She followed the children out and went out to dig herbs and look for saplings on her own.

The children of the tribe took Su Xinyue to look for blueberries, raspberries and wild strawberries to eat the day after they arrived.

Su Qiuyue thought it was delicious, so she came out to find some seedlings and transplant them into the space.

The cotton is growing well these days, and after the autumn harvest, other seeds should arrive. Then we can grow a lot of food again.

The mature herbs have been picked. When digging the herbs, I scattered the seeds. Next year, there will be a patch of herbs growing here.

Life in the tribe is easy and comfortable, as if isolated from the outside world, and every day is simple and fulfilling.

Xinyue finally learned how to ride a deer before she left. She also learned their dance and loved listening to their stories when they lit a bonfire at night.

Su Qiuyue also dug a lot of herbs, and they had to go back, after all, there were still many things to do.

No matter how reluctant Xinyue was, she had no choice but to go back with her sister and Old Man Zhao.

On the way back, Su Qiuyue also happened to find a ginseng. Old man Zhao said it was probably one or two years old.

It took the three of them a whole day to dig out the ginseng completely, but Su Qiuyue thought it was worth it since they got the ginseng.

"Uncle, whoever sees it gets a share. I don't have much now, can I bring you some food next time?" Su Qiuyue felt that she couldn't really take it all by herself, after all, part of the credit was also due to Old Man Zhao.

"Haha, I was just helping, and I took advantage of this guy." Uncle Zhao was happy. He had good luck on this trip.

"Uncle, next time you hunt, sell it to me, and I'll exchange it with you for food." Su Qiuyue doesn't have much meat in her space now, so she needs to replenish it. Otherwise, she won't have time to get it when she goes to school.

"Okay. I'll give you more meat then." Old Man Zhao nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll prepare the food and call you. It's right where our brigade and our company will meet."

After making an appointment with Old Man Zhao, I walked back with a lighter step.

The two sisters returned home safely, and Sun Yanqiu couldn't help but marvel at Su Xinyue.

"It's only been a month, why do I feel like Xinyue has grown longer? And gained weight. What did you eat?"

"Hahaha, eating meat and drinking milk every day, it's so delicious." Xinyue deliberately made her greedy.

"Don't listen to her. Let's eat some pickled vegetables. They don't have many vegetables there. I've been craving cucumbers and tomatoes these past two days." Su Qiuyue quickly pulled Sun Yanqiu to the other side to sort out the things they brought back.

"Oh, jerky! What is this? It smells like milk!" Sun Yanqiu knew that they would definitely bring her something delicious.

He turned over and screamed.

"Don't shout, they are all yours." Su Qiuyue looked at her with amusement. Together with her, they divided the things they brought back into portions and then sent them to the backyard.

My eldest cousin and Xu Hua also came over.

In the evening, several people had a lively dinner. Xu Hua said she would not leave no matter what, and insisted that Xinyue tell her about her experiences during this period.

After two days of rest, Su Qiuyue resumed her work of drying medicines, and occasionally went out to deliver babies. When her days were in order, Su Qiuyue received a letter from Dr. Zhao and others in the city. It contained a letter of recommendation and a notice.

She will be able to go to school in the provincial capital in September.

The cousin happily celebrated again, and the family had a lively meal together, except for Xu Jing who pouted from time to time.

But she only dared to do this when others weren't paying attention. She had learned her lesson from the last beating, and even if she didn't want to, she wouldn't say anything unpleasant like before.

Su Qiuyue had prepared her own things long ago, and Xinyue's things were also prepared.

On the day of registration, I took my sister and Xu Hua to the commune middle school with my household registration booklet. Then I took my sister to the dormitory.

She and Xu Hua were assigned to the same class and shared a dormitory. The dormitory was just a large room with bunk beds placed next to each other.

Su Xinyue happened to be with Xu Hua.

There were no lockers in the dormitory, and there was nothing else except bedding. I could go home every week, and I didn't need to bring any clothes. I just brought a few pairs of socks and underwear.

It was inconvenient to wash it in the dormitory, so Su Qiuyue asked her to take it home and wash it on Sunday. They ate in the cafeteria, and every Monday they carried their own food to school and gave it to the cafeteria in exchange for meal tickets.

Even so, Su Qiuyue still left some money for her sister, just in case she wanted to eat or buy something, she would have money herself. But it was sewn into the collar of her clothes.